There is a peculiar kind of magic in watching people completely rewrite the script of their own public existence, which is exactly what The Marsh Family are doing with their sweeping debut album, "Hollow Chapters". You likely remember Ben, Danielle, Alfie, Tom, Ella, and Tess as the cheerful Kent collective whose viral parodies gave millions a reason to smile when the walls were closing...

The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...